The Face at the Window (1939 film)
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Randall Faye (treatment)
| The Face at the Window | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Opening titles | |
| Directed by | George King |
| Written by | A. R. Rawlinson (scenario and dialogue) Randall Faye (treatment) |
| Based on | the "Famous Melodrama", The Face at the Window by F. Brooke Warren |
| Produced by | George King |
| Starring | Tod Slaughter |
| Cinematography | Hone Glendinning |
| Edited by | Jack Harris |
| Music by | Jack Beaver |
Production company | George King Productions |
| Distributed by | British Lion Film Corporation (UK) Arthur Ziehm, Inc. (U.S.) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 65 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Face at the Window is a 1939 British horror film directed by George King and starring Tod Slaughter and Marjorie Taylor.[1][2] It was the second sound film adaptation of the 1897 stage melodrama by F. Brooke Warren after the 1932 version.[3][4][5][6]
In Paris in 1880, a series of murders is distinguished by a grotesque face appearing at each victim's window. The crimes are attributed to a mysterious Wolf Man. Bank clerk Lucien Cortier is accused of being the perpetrator, and seeks to uncover the true identity of the murderer. The courtly but sinister Chevalier Lucio del Gardo has his own reasons for implicating Cortier for the murders.
Cast
- Tod Slaughter as Chevalier Lucio del Gardo
- Marjorie Taylor as Cecile de Brisson
- John Warwick as Lucien Cortier
- Leonard Henry as Gaston, the cook
- Aubrey Mallalieu as M. de Brisson
- Robert Adair as Police Inspector Gouffert
- Wallace Evennett as Professor LeBlanc
- Kay Lewis as Babette, the maid
- Bill Shine as Pierre, Babette's Beau
- Margaret Yarde as La Pinan
- Harry Terry as The Face at the Window
Reception
Tod Slaughter was one of Britain's most popular film personalities, placing reliably in the Motion Picture Herald's annual polls of "The Money Making Stars of Britain" through 1942.[7] He always ranked in the top hundred, usually between #40 and #60, and his films found steady acceptance in the home countries.
In America, however, Slaughter's blood-and-thunder films were too British in theme, too old-fashioned and broadly played for mainstream audiences, and thus they were not released by any of the major film companies. Instead they were handled by independent distributors in New York (usually Select Attractions or Arthur Ziehm, Inc.), and they did attract a specialized following among horror fans. On at least two occasions a Slaughter picture was paired with another British thriller for a "super-shocker" double feature, to cash in on the successful nationwide double bill of Universal's Dracula and Frankenstein.[8]